


if the stars explode

by janestache (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, F/M, um
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-24
Updated: 2013-02-03
Packaged: 2017-11-26 18:52:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/janestache
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade Harley makes your head spin in the best way imaginable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is... Some kind of AU where trolls and humans exist together (they don't necessarily get along, of course). I think I need to do more research about caves because what even.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

A small voice rings through the cave - _your cave,_ you think darkly. Someone has found your secret spot - you are  not happy. You shrink back into the shadows cast by the rock you're currently cowering behind.

"Helloooooo?" A girl appears in the entrance of the cave, and she's not like any girl you've ever seen before. Her wild black hair tumbles over her shoulders in a mess of hectic curls, and her bright green eyes somehow manage to penetrate the subterranean gloom. Her face is streaked with dirt and grime and her knees are scraped and bruised, but she's smiling enthusiastically.

You peak out from behind your safety rock for a quick  glance and, to your sudden dismay, you find her bright eyes staring right at you. You squeak in surprise (it's a very manly squeak, of course!) and lose your balance, toppling over gracefully (in a marginally less manly fashion).

The strange girl giggles and scrambles over to you, offering you her hand - you swat it away.

"What are YOU doin' here," you bark. A little voice in the back of your head says maybe you should be nice to this strange girl, but you ignore it - she's an intruder in _your cave!_

You had found your secret spot some time ago - you had been arguing with your best friend Feferi, and you got angry, so you ran away. You found a little hole tucked into the side of one of the many rolling hills surrounding your estate, so you climbed through it and into an elaborate system of tunnels that you think nobody really knows about - you were thrilled at the idea of being the first to discover this new place.

You followed the biggest, safest-looking tunnel into the most incredible place you had ever seen - a huge cavern, buried underground. The ceiling towered over your head - you must have been underneath a gigantic hill! In the center of the cavern, there was a small pool filled with crystal clear water, fed by a little spring that trickled down from between a couple of rocks.

In short, it was paradise. And it was all yours.

Except now the spell is broken, there's a human in your sanctuary - a human _girl,_ at that.

The human girl is saying something, you realize, so you shake your head and try to pay attention to the words coming out of her mouth at a thousand miles per hour.

"What is this place? Do you live here? How did you find it? What's your name? Are you a troll? I've never met a troll before! Well, come on! Aren't you going to say anything?" She stares at you pointedly. You stare back, unsure of what to say.

"Uh… Eridan." You say the first thing that comes to mind. She tilts her head, looking confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

You finally manage to recover your wits enough to say something absurd."

"It's my name, stupid!" you snap, getting to your feet quickly. "Eridan Ampora."

She takes a step back (and she's taller than you, to your dismay). "You're a seadweller," she says cautiously. You move forward and she recoils, and you can see fear in her eyes, plain as day.

"A-are you going to hurt me? Because I can defend myself. I'm not afraid of you."

The switch from the curious, adventuresome girl he had first seen to the terrified but defiantly brave human backing away from you now is stunning. You honestly don't know what to say, but you know you should say something, so you open your mouth and hope that whatever comes out isn't offensive and doesn't scare her any more.

"Do you like to swim?" you blurt, in a moment of unparalleled brilliance (how about not). "Because there's a little pool over there an the water's really nice, an if you don't know how to swim I could teach you maybe, and then we can have swimming' races and underwater breath-holdin' contests. Nobody else knows about this place so sometimes when I come here I get kinda lonely, but I think you're probably alright on account a' you found me all by yourself, so maybe we can be special secret cave friends…" You trail off awkwardly, not entirely sure what just happened.

The girl looks confused and unsure, so you do your best to smile at her. You belatedly realize that showing her your sharp teeth probably isn't the best idea, but she smiles back at you timidly, so you give yourself an imaginary pat on the back.

"Um…. Sure I guess! This place is pretty cool, but… Are you sure you're not going to hurt me?"

You nod emphatically.

"Okay! But I didn't bring a swimsuit, so maybe we can just do regular cave things today and we can go swimming next time!"

You shrug. "Yeah, whatever."

She giggles. "You have a really funny accent!"

"No I don't, yours is the funny one! Do all a you humans talk like that or what?"

"Well no, not all of us, but your accent is way weirder than any of our human ones!"

"You mean your stupid ones."

She punches you in the shoulder, but it's not very hard and she's laughing as she does it, and you can't help but laugh too.

"I'm Jade Harley, by the way!"

"Harley, what kinda name is that?"

"The best name, obviously!"

You argue back and forth with her for a while, but you kind of enjoy it - when you argue with Fef you always feel terrible about yourself, with Sol you target each of your verbal attacks to destroy him - but with Jade it's fun and playful, and you find yourself enjoying it more than you'd care to admit.

When she has to leave to go eat dinner you think you actually miss her - you almost follow her home, but you decide against it. You don't want to seem clingy and weird, and you think she's probably still a little bit afraid of you, so you make your way back to the sprawling estate your family occupies.

You fall asleep that night thinking about Jade Harley's incredible green eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So humans are scared of seadwellers because they're known for being much more cruel than landdwelling trolls (this is mostly the Condesce's fault), and human children are told they should never approach one (the humans view them as sort of wild animals that might attack at any minute - that is to say, they're very wary of meeting one in a dark cave alone). Also Eridan and Jade are young in this chapter - I think they're around eight or nine, which is why I didn't include any swearing and also why Eridan is friendly (in his own special way).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shootin' buddies and also eridan being awkward and adorable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally finished chapter 2
> 
> I think I'm going to set a schedule? Like a specific day I update on, because otherwise I will never get anything done. Let me know what you think?

You're turning thirteen years old today and you know you should be happy about this but it's hard to celebrate by yourself. Nobody at the orphanage really cares one way or another - you're just another dirty face in the crowd with no home, no family and no future. There is, however, one small thing you're looking forward to today - you're going to get to see your best friend Eridan again for the first time in months.

Eridan belongs to the special race of trolls that govern your society - he's not royalty, but he's related to one of Her Imperious Condescension's Royal Navy generals. He lives in a huge mansion nestled in the middle of a beautiful little valley for most of the year - you've only been inside it once but it's night and day from the cramped three story building you live in with the other children. When Eridan's not at his house he's at some fancy military school for seadwellers - you're pretty sure his school is underwater, although he's never said it outright. You haven't seen him in so long you can hardly wait until you get a chance to slip away from your prison.

You've been sneaking away to hang out with Eridan ever since you first met him five years ago while you were exploring. You're still not sure why he wastes his time with a dirty human orphan like you - from what you understand of the trolls' silly blood-caste system, he's pretty high up on the hemospectrum. He's stuck around with you for this long, though, so you guess that's a good sign. You're especially excited today because he promised to teach you how to shoot his laser-powered rifle Ahab's Crosshairs the last time you saw him. There's no way you're ever going to get a chance like this again - no troll in their right mind would even consider selling a gun to a human like yourself, and where would you even get the money anyway?

You're finally able to sneak past the orphanage volunteers and make your getaway into the patch of woods close by to the building. You know the way to the cave well - you can't even remember how many times you've done this now. You uncover the entrance and slip inside quietly, feeling along the slick walls of the tunnel until you reach the cavern - when you were eight you and Eridan had thought the cave was monstrous, but once you hit your growth spurt it didn't seem quite so large anymore. Still, it was more a home than the orphanage had ever been - you've certainly known about the cave longer.

You hadn't always been an orphan. You used to live with your grandfather, Jake Harley, until he was killed in a shootout between troll legislacerators and a group of human rebels who managed to get their hands on weapons somehow. After that you were pretty much on your own - you just went on living by yourself for a while (nobody really noticed the little girl who sneaked into the supermarket everyday and escaped with her pockets loaded with goodies). Of course, eventually someone did notice and so they stuck you in the orphanage, where you've been slowly driving yourself completely stir-crazy for the past three years.

You're startled out of your thoughts by something slimy and wet pressing against the back of your neck. You squeal and throw your elbow back out of habit, feeling it connect with something soft and squishy. You hear a small grunt and then a thud, and when you turn around Eridan's sitting on the ground sputtering with the most adorably confused expression on his face.

"Oh my god, Eridan, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!"

He opens his mouth a few times but nothing comes out, and you can't help but giggle. He just looks so cute when he doesn't know what to say!

"Jesus fuckin' Christ, Harley, what was that for?"

"Oh shut up, you, I said I was sorry! It was an accident!"

"Yeah, well, you didn't have to knock all the wind outta me, for god's sake."

You offer him your hand and he takes it reluctantly. His hand is cool and moist, and you're reminded again just how alien he is. His skin is gray and, upon closer reflection, glitters a little in the strange light coming from his cellphone - it almost looks like scales, but it feels smooth like skin. He's got long, webbed fingers and purple-tinted fins growing from the side of his head, plus a ridiculous purple streak running down the middle of his carefully styled back hair. He's not altogether unattractive, although you've never really looked at him that way before. He's like a brother to you, you've known each other for forever. It would be weird to think of him that way. Right?

"What the hell is wrong with you, Harley, are you just goin' to fuckin' stand there holdin' my hand like some kinda dumbass?"

You drop his hand and avert your eyes, laughing nervously. He just stares at you suspiciously.

"So… Did you bring Ahab's Crosshairs?" Yes, good. Guns. You can talk about guns. He smirks at you.

"Yeah, but only if you think you can handle it. This gun is made for the best soldiers, so you better not ruin it or anythin'." You follow Eridan over to a little clearing with a couple of the less pointy rocks you had dragged over there arranged like a little lounge. This was where you spent much of your time together. Sitting on a rock is one of the coolest things you've ever seen - you've never seen a rifle before but you still think this is probably the coolest one ever. It's bright blue but other than that you have no idea what any of the other features are supposed to be. You reach out your hands and Eridan places the gun gently into your arms.

"Now be careful with that - if Cronus finds out I took it he'll probably split me in half, so don't go breakin' it or anythin'."

You nod slowly, unable to take your eyes off of the precious weapon. 

"We're not gonna shoot it in here 'cause you can't really see anythin', so come on. We're going outside."

You follow him out of the cave (after handing the weapon back to him - he was still wary of the fact that you were a thirteen-year-old human girl who had never seen let alone operated a gun before) and through the hilly country between his home and the forest that bordered the city. Of course the Ampora's had their own shooting range located behind the house - how better to prepare Eridan for his destiny as a great military commander?

He shows you how to operate the gun, guides your fingers to the right position and teaches you how to sight down the range to the target in the distance. Your first shot isn't even close, but you're thrilled with the surge of white hot energy that shoots through the gun and out the tip - the adrenaline pulses through your body and you can't stop the wide smile on your face. Eridan chuckles at your glee, so you punch him.

You focus on the target, squinting through the scope and pointing the crosshairs carefully at the center of the target - you fire - and the shot blasts through the center of the target.

"What the fuck was that, Harley?" Eridan asks, and he looks amazed.

You squeal in happiness, resisting the urge to do a dorky happy dance.

"I-I did it! I hit the target!! I can't believe it!"

"Calm the fuck down, Harley, it's not that big a deal - I hit it on my first shot - not that hard…"

"I actually hit it! This is so much fun!!"

"I mean you probably just got lucky, there's no way you can make another one…"

You make three more shots before Eridan decides that you've had enough for one day and takes the gun away from you. You think you might have upset him but you can't think about that right now, because shooting Ahab's Crosshairs had just been so much fun! You can't remember the last time you've had this much fun doing something so simple. For a moment you're sad because you think that it might not be completely fair that you're not allowed to have your own gun, but you shake off the thought. It's silly.

You say goodbye to Eridan - he gives you an awkward hug and whispers "Happy birthday" in your ear before pressing a small package into your hands. He then escapes before you have a chance to say anything. You race home as quickly as possible so you can open the package from the safety of the underside of your bed (it's the only safe place to open presents without the threat of the other children). You tear off the clumsy wrapping and find a little box, which you open. Inside is a note written in wavy handwriting, which you set aside, and a small gold ring with a light green gem set in the middle. You gasp - you've never seen anything more beautiful in your life.

You open the note.

 

dear jade

i hope you havve a good birthday an all

you better like the present i got you

just wwanted to say that i think your pretty and im really glad were friends

 

You fall asleep that night with a smile on your face, holding the ring close to your heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is some kind of dystopian society I guess?
> 
> Also sorry for lengthy exposition but I needed to establish some things and also I just needed to work some things out for myself and writing them out is the best way for me.


End file.
